1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 42nd season for the Los Angeles Lakers as a franchise, their 40th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season in Los Angeles, California.^[1] The Lakers entered the regular season as the defending NBA champion, having defeated the Boston Celtics in six games in the 1987 NBA Finals; following their championship win, Lakers head coach Pat Riley promised the team would repeat as champions.^[2]

The Lakers got off to a fast start by winning their first eight games of the regular season, then later on posting a 15-game winning streak between December and January, and holding a 35–8 record at the All-Star break.^[3] The Lakers then posted a 10-game winning streak in February, and won the Pacific Division title with a league-best 62–20 record, which earned them the first seed in the Western Conference.^[4]

Byron Scott led the Lakers in scoring averaging 21.7 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while James Worthy averaged 19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, and Magic Johnson provided the team with 19.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 11.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar contributed 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, while A.C. Green provided with 11.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Mychal Thompson averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while defensive guard Michael Cooper contributed 8.7 points and 4.7 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, Wes Matthews provided with 5.7 points and 2.7 assists per game, and Kurt Rambis averaged 4.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.^[5]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, Johnson, Worthy and Abdul-Jabbar were all selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while Riley was selected to coach the Western Conference. Johnson scored 17 points along with 19 assists and 2 steals, despite the Western Conference losing to the Eastern Conference, 138–133.^[6][7][8] Meanwhile, Scott participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the second consecutive year.^[9][10] Johnson also finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics;^[11][12] Scott finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[12] while Cooper finished tied in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[12] and Riley finished in second place in Coach of the Year voting, behind Doug Moe of the Denver Nuggets.^[13][12]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, and before the Lakers could make good on Riley's guarantee, the team faced off against the 8th–seeded San Antonio Spurs, a team that featured All-Star guard Alvin Robertson, second-year star Walter Berry, and Frank Brickowski. The Lakers won the first two games over the Spurs at home at the Great Western Forum, before winning Game 3 on the road, 109–107 at the HemisFair Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.^[14]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Lakers faced off against the 5th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, sixth man Thurl Bailey, and John Stockton. The Lakers won Game 1 over the Jazz at the Great Western Forum, 110–91, but then lost the next two games, which included a Game 3 road loss to the Jazz at the Salt Palace, 96–89 as the Jazz took a 2–1 series lead. The Lakers managed to win the next two games before losing Game 6 to the Jazz at the Salt Palace, 108–80. With the series tied at 3–3, the Lakers won Game 7 over the Jazz at the Great Western Forum, 109–98 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[15]

In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers then faced off against the 3rd–seeded Dallas Mavericks, a team that featured the quartet of All-Star forward Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper and All-Star center James Donaldson. The Lakers won the first two games over the Mavericks at the Great Western Forum, and took a 2–0 series lead. However, the team lost the next two games on the road, including a Game 4 loss to the Mavericks at the Reunion Arena, 118–104. The Lakers won Game 5 at the Great Western Forum, 119–102, but then lost Game 6 to the Mavericks at the Reunion Arena, 105–103. With the series tied at 3–3, the Lakers won Game 7 over the Mavericks at the Great Western Forum, 117–102 to win in another hard-fought seven-game series, and advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.^[16]

In the 1988 NBA Finals, the Lakers faced off against the 2nd–seeded Detroit Pistons, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Isiah Thomas, Adrian Dantley and Joe Dumars. The Lakers lost Game 1 to the Pistons at home, 105–93 at the Great Western Forum, but managed to win the next two games, which included a Game 3 win over the Pistons on the road, 99–86 at the Pontiac Silverdome. However, the Lakers lost the next two games, including a Game 5 loss to the Pistons at the Pontiac Silverdome, 104–94 as the Pistons took a 3–2 series lead. The Lakers managed to win their next two home games at the Great Western Forum, winning Game 6 over the Pistons by a score of 103–102, and then winning Game 7 by a score of 108–105 to win in another hard-fought seven game series, winning their second consecutive NBA championship, and eleventh overall; Worthy, who had a triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 7, was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. The Lakers also became the NBA's first repeat champions since the Boston Celtics did it in the 1968–69 NBA season.^[17][18][19]

The Lakers finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 708,477 at the Great Western Forum during the regular season.^[5][20] By the time the Lakers had finished their season, they had played an NBA record of 106 games, including another record of 24 playoff games, winning 77 and losing 29; the team went 62–20 in the regular season and 15–9 in the playoffs, en route to their sixth NBA championship in Los Angeles, and their 11th overall in franchise history. Following the season, Rambis signed as a free agent with the Charlotte Hornets expansion team.^[21][22][23]

HoopsHype would later rank this squad as the team with the 13th easiest route to the NBA Finals championship (in terms of team records of their opponents), primarily due to the record that the Spurs had this season.^[24] The 1988 NBA Finals was the last time the Showtime-era Lakers won an NBA championship; it was also the final time that the franchise won a championship at the Great Western Forum. The Lakers did not win another championship until 2000, when they were playing at the Staples Center (now known as the Crypto.com Arena).

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Player statistics citation:^[5]

• James Worthy, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Magic Johnson, All-NBA First Team
• Michael Cooper, NBA All-Defensive First Team

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named to his 18th consecutive NBA All-Star Game. He broke the All-Star scoring record during the game at Chicago Stadium
• Magic Johnson was voted to his 6th consecutive NBA All-Star Game as a starter and 8th overall
• James Worthy was voted to his 3rd consecutive NBA All-Star Game
• Pat Riley was the NBA All-Star Games Western Conference coach for the 4th consecutive time and 6th overall

• "Back to Back" – Documentary on the 1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers on YouTube